DLA Piper has advised Cognita, an international education group, on the development and sale of a building located in Cabrera de Mar (Barcelona) to Marquee Capital, a firm specialized in real estate investment. The asset is intended to become a new international school operated by The British School of Barcelona, a Cognita brand.
The transaction, structured as a forward purchase followed by a sale & leaseback, will allow Cognita to continue operating the educational center once construction is completed, under a long-term lease agreement. The property will be built on a 16,000-square-meter plot and will have capacity for around 750 students. It will also hold the BREEAM Very Good Environmental Certification, in line with current sustainability standards.
The DLA Piper team involved in the transaction – primarily in negotiating the forward purchase and sale & leaseback contracts, as well as the tax structuring – was made up of José María Oliva, partner, and Fátima Rico-Villademoros, senior associate, both from the Real Estate practice, along with Miguel Baz, partner, and Alberto Lobato, senior associate, from the Tax practice.
On the deal, Fátima Rico highlighted: “This agreement underscores the growing interest of the real estate market in the educational segment within the alternative real estate asset universe, which we consider to have significant potential.”